A Revitalized Leader Is Good for the Group

Recently, my second son,
Ian, celebrated his 11th birthday. I went through the La Leche League
accreditation process while pregnant with Ian and became a Leader just
after his birth, so my leadership is 11 years old, too. When I look
at my bright and active fifth grader, I see that he’s gone through
a lot of changes in the past 11 years. I’ve gone through a lot
of changes, too, but I’m still in LLL. I’ve met Leaders with
25 or more years in LLL, and I’ve known Leaders accredited after
me who’ve already retired.

What keeps me involved in
La Leche League as my children grow and my life continues to evolve?
It’s the sense of accomplishment I feel through my LLL work.

When I first became a Leader,
I felt a great sense of accomplishment each time I had contact with
a mother. It hadn’t been that long since I had gone through the
transformation of becoming a mother. I was very aware of how a small
piece of breastfeeding information, or just a timely bit of reassurance
given at a pivotal moment, can alter the course of a mother’s and
baby’s lives forever. I was very inspired by all the scientific
research on the benefits of human milk and determined to "get the
word out" about breastfeeding.

As my children grew, I also
grew as a mother. I experienced nursing past toddlerhood and then tandem
nursing. I was understanding more and more that human milk is just a
small part of mothering through breastfeeding, and my appreciation of
LLL’s message deepened.

However, at the same time,
leading meetings and doing helping calls became more routine and I gave
myself less credit for the mothers I was reaching personally. I didn’t
get the same sense of accomplishment from doing the same work each month.
When our meeting attendance went down, or there was a lull in phone
calls, I became more easily discouraged. I came to depend more on my
fellow Leaders for support and encouragement. Chapter meetings, District
Workshops, and Area Conferences helped to renew my enthusiasm for my
efforts within my own Group.

As I continued to gain experience
as a Leader, I became more aware of the larger cultural forces that
influenced the mothers I was helping. I wanted to impact those factors
in the broader culture—hospital policy, society’s attitudes,
and the media’s portrayal of breastfeeding—which create the
need for groups such as LLL in the first place. Working on outreach
opportunities such as the Women’s Expo and continuing education
seminars helped me feel I was making a difference.

When my youngest son entered
kindergarten, my focus shifted again. I was ready to tackle an Area
job. Area jobs are all about helping mothers by helping Leaders to help
mothers. As a side benefit, I get to spend more time with other Leaders.
I find that Leaders are very diverse and really have only one thing
in common—they’re all wonderful people! In addition to the
camaraderie of Area work, I enjoy the challenge of mastering new skills
as I take on new projects.

I believe I’ll remain
an LLL Leader just as long as the work is rewarding. Over the years
I’ve found several ways to keep my enthusiasm high:

Read up on the latest breastfeeding
research—this is how I first developed the desire for leadership.

Attend Chapter meetings,
District Workshops, and Area Conferences (and, if possible, the International
Conference)—peers are a constant source of inspiration to me.

Work at an outreach opportunity
or volunteer to help with a continuing education session or an Area
Conference job—you’ll feel as though you’re reaching
a new audience.

Consider an Area job—work
with other Leaders providing support for your fellow Leaders and master
some new skills.

Most importantly, remember
that the only way to change the world is one person at a time—each
time you help one mother, you’ve accomplished something great!

Marcia McCoy is a Leader with the NW Suburbs Group in Minnesota, USA
and is the Area Financial Coordinator for the Minnesota/Dakotas Area.
"Managing The Group" is edited by Deborah Wirtel. Send columns
or ideas to Deb at 4246 Robert Koch Hospital Road, St. Louis, Missouri,
63129, USA or DebMomm at aol.com (email).